TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota Wild practised at the MasterCard Centre ahead of tomorrow's game. 

* Frederik Andersen started a career-high 53 games for the Anaheim Ducks during the 2014-15 regular season. During that run, he actually started 20 in a row at one point. "That was a good learning curve about playing every night and getting used to that workload both mentally and physically," said Andersen, who also started 16 playoff games that spring. "There's so many different mindsets with how much your playing ... you just got to be able to switch your mindset every night and be ready for every shot." Head coach Mike Babcock said his plan is to have the Leafs back-up goalie start 20 times this season, which means Andersen is on pace for the heaviest regular season workload of his career. "I'm very excited about it," Andersen said. "Mentally, it's about learning to be ready every night and physically it's about recovering every day you're not playing." Andersen has started 20 of Toronto's 24 games so far this season and will get the call once again on Wednesday. 

* Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, who leads the NHL in save percentage (.946), started a career-high 66 games last season, which was well above his previous high of 55. "Physically, you just have to manage your practices and make sure you're taking care of your body, treatment-wise, on days you don't play," Dubnyk said. "Mentally, you can't have the waves. You enjoy a win for that night and maybe half the next day and then you have to park it, because you're playing again the next day and the one after that. Same thing with a loss. You really have to work on staying levelheaded so you can get that consistency." Since stumbling in his first five starts in Toronto, Andersen has been consistently good posting a .931 save percentage in his last 15 starts.

* The Wild worked out at Toronto's practice facility on Tuesday, which allowed Bruce Boudreau, who coached Andersen in Anaheim, to reconnect with his former goalie. Boudreau, who now runs Minnesota's bench, waited for Andersen to get off the ice and then approached him as he walked toward the Leafs dressing room. The pair spoke for a couple minutes. "I just wanted to congratulate him (on the contract)," Boudreau explained. "I didn't talk to him in Minnesota when they were there (on Oct. 20) and just wanted to thank him, because he was great for us." Boudreau was asked what it takes to play goalie in a market like Toronto. "Well, I know I couldn't do it," he said. "You got to have pretty thick skin." Boudreau believes the Leafs made the "right choice" in acquiring Andersen. "I remember talking to (Babcock) and Lou (Lamoriello) at the draft and I said, 'This guy's going to win a lot of hockey games for you. He's the real deal. He can make the spectacular save." Andersen has fond memories of working with Boudreau. "He was a great coach," Andersen said. "He was always pretty much in a good mood. Obviously, if we weren't playing great he wasn't the most happy guy, but I think that's every coach. He treated me well."

* Antoine Bibeau was called up from the Marlies and served as the second goalie at practice Tuesday and is expected to be Andersen's back-up against the Wild. The 22-year-old has never played in the NHL. Meanwhile, Karri Ramo will join the Toronto Marlies on a professional tryout and will get a few starts in the AHL to see where his game is at following a serious knee injury last season. Andersen said he feels for Jhonas Enroth, who was put on waivers after only four starts this season. "If you look back, I didn't really get in a groove before my first four, five games so, for him, getting only to play four is tough," Andersen said. "I liked him so it's tough to see." Enroth cleared waivers on Wednesday and will join the Marlies. 

* Boudreau, a Toronto native who suited up for the Leafs during his playing days, still feels an attachment to his hometown team. "I find I watch every game," Boudreau said after Tuesday's practice. "You can only really understand it if you grew up playing with the Marlies your whole life whether it was Peewee or juniors or playing with the Leafs or the farm club, you get pretty addicted to the team. When I'm done they'll probably be my team, the team I watch all the time." With that in mind, Boudreau was asked if he's happy to see the franchise getting closer to being a contender again. "They're not that far away. I mean, they're young, but they're awful good. I watch their home games and when they're on you better be ready to play. They're going to be very good, very soon. It's not going to take too long for these guys to be extremely good. I think they're good already, but probably, by their own standards, they're probably going to be another year away." A reporter joked that Boudreau just missed out on being named to the franchise's top-100 players list. "Yeah, what's that all about," Boudreau said with a smile. "Maybe if they had the top 100 Leafs minor leaguers I would've been there."

* William Nylander is just 20-years-old and has played only 45 career NHL games so when he logged on to Twitter last week and saw all sorts of tweets about him potentially getting traded, well, it wasn't the easiest thing to digest. "It was the first time (seeing that) so I didn't really know what to think," Nylander said. "When you hear something like that it's just, I mean, it comes like a surprise. I mean, you weren't expecting it, for sure. But, I'm here for now (smiles)." Babcock went out of his way to speak with Nylander last week and stress that the organization has no plans to move him. "I mean, it felt good," Nylander said when asked about his coach's message. "I didn't think they were going to trade me anyway (laughs) hopefully." Nylander's father, Michael, was traded several times during his lengthy NHL career so William was asked if his old man had any advice for dealing with the speculation. "I don't know," Nylander said with a grin. "Social media wasn't that big when he was playing."

* During the Western Canada swing, Nylander started each game as the centre on the fourth line alongside wingers Matt Martin and Ben Smith. "It's a little adjustment, for sure, but then later in games I've been able to get up into the other lines," Nylander noted. Indeed, Babcock moved him up in the lineup after the Leafs fell behind early in Calgary and Vancouver and Nylander's ice time only truly dipped in Edmonton. "I'm sure it's hard for him, bouncing around a little bit," Martin said, "wing, centre, and obviously centre is a lot more responsibility in this league, but he's done a good job. His attitude's been fine. I think he's handling it well." Nylander, October's NHL rookie of the month, has a very respectable 16 points in 23 games although only seven of those points have come at even strength. "Willy's a guy who can generate offence for us," Babcock said. "We'd like him to generate more five-on-five and we think he can so we're trying to help him, like all our young guys, get better."

* Nazem Kadri missed practice, because he was sick. He's the third player to miss practice in the last week due to illness joining Andersen and Martin, who returned to the ice on Tuesday after missing Monday's workout. Matt Hunwick, who missed Monday's practice for "maintenance" was also back in action on Tuesday.

Lines at Leafs practice 

Forwards

van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner
Hyman-Matthews-Brown
Komarov-Nylander-Soshnikov
Martin-Smith-Leivo

Defence

Rielly-Zaitsev
Gardiner-Marincin
Hunwick-Polak
Corrado-Carrick 
Andersen 
Bibeau

Power play units at Leafs practice 

Gardiner
Matthews-Leivo-Nylander
Komarov 

Rielly
Bozak-Soshnikov-Marner
JVR